Born in Teheran in 1976, Vahid Jalilvand graduated there as a theatre director. In 1996, he started his career at the state broadcasting company as an editor and then as a director.

He directed over 30 documentaries about society and industry. He also worked in Iranian TV series. His Wednesday, May 9 was presented in the Orizzonti section at the 2015 Venice Film Festival and won the FIPRESCI Award.

Cinema is often considered the art closest to real life: is there any
way where you feel you identify with the movie’s protagonists?
I
personally don't believe the characters of the film must have a
real-life counterpart. I do believe, though, that artistic creation
lacks in efficacy if there is no strong relationship with society and
people. Ali Zarnegar and I looked at and observed people for six months
before we were able to create the characters of my films. When you do
that, the affinity of cinema for the real becomes apparent, my own crew
saw the characters of the film embodied in random people they met.

How do wisdom and courage influence Nariman’s behaviour?
I
think it is hard for human being to display courage and wisdom at the
same time. Max Weber explains how different sorts of wisdom can coexist:
the wisdom of survival and the wisdom of values. In the Orient, the
wisdom of survival is prevalent. It does not opposite the wisdom of
values, rather, it complements it. It is also true that the perfect
human being is the one who has both, which is exactly Dr Nariman’s
challenge: courage and wisdom, together.

HINTS

BOOK

For
Wednesday, May 9: Shahnameh (The Book of Kings): I was very happy when I
knew that Francis Ford Coppola recently recommended Shahnameh and
emphasized the fact that the book is not merely a story of kings but
also a drama with situations and characters that make up a compendium on
human challenges.

For No Date, No Signature: Hafez, a XIV-century poet
who with his extraordinary poetry can purify the soul of the reader. He
taught me that each film I make is an insane quest to look for myself.
Definitely, this film comes from the craziness of Hafez.